


The Garden Diary

by Riyusama



Category: Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life, iyashikei
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29067678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riyusama/pseuds/Riyusama
Summary: Located in a small city on the outskirts of Ohio rests a quaint restaurant that has been manned by the same family, passed down from generation to generation. This restaurant is more than meets the eye though as it is the home of beings that are not entirely human.In this homely and peaceful place, Andrew Ilnyckyj and his family have been residing here for centuries. It is a safe haven for their kind where they can peacefully co-exist with humans whilst hiding their identity.Enter Steven Lim, a food blogger and internet celebrity whose interest is piqued by the enchanting restaurant that Andrew's family owns. A new kind of adventure brews for the two of them as they meet and get to know each other.
Relationships: Andrew Ilnyckyj/Steven Lim, Annie Jeong/Inga Lam
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Promos & Character Designs

**Promos/Aesthetic:**

> _And I whisper unto the Earth  
>  That the winds may serenade you  
>  The rain kiss upon your cheek  
>  Lush verdure caress softly  
>  My heart yearning only you_

[  [ listen to playlist here ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fplaylist%3Flist%3DPL0yPUSbSFqFKChyTaBvTjF9XSa4h_9ehu&t=NjQzMGFjYzRlNmEwNTg0YThiZTIyZDEyN2E1NDNkZjVkMDMzNzMyMyw1ZjBmMmNmYjY4MjNkYzM5MWE1MTQ1ZGVjYTJkNGVhMzU4ZWZjYWZj&ts=1611948534) ]

[Post @ tumblr](https://riyusama.tumblr.com/post/640865694591959041/the-garden-diary-his-name-is-a-sound-that-only)

**Character Design:**

[Post @ tumblr](https://riyusama.tumblr.com/post/639905127673757696/tried-drawing-andrew-for-a-standrew-cryptid-au-at)


	2. Foreword & Credits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I almost forgot to add this part!

**Foreword**

So, this fanfiction was created because I saw a tumblr post with the words Garden and Diary in it. I thought to myself "Oh hey! The Garden Diary sounds like some sickass title for a story!". As you all can see, one thing led to another and now this is written. I would like to thank Lim [(Dishworthit on tumblr](https://dishworthit.tumblr.com/)) for brainstorming this with me. I came up with the title and the concept of it being in a rural area where it's almost forest-like with mythical creatures, having magical elements of using food, herbs, and spices for healing. I was stuck on this idea because I had the main aesthetics and vibe to it, but not the actual characters yet. So, a huge thanks to Lim who gave the idea of _cryptid Andrew_ with YouTuber Steven still doing food shows with Adam. They came up with the idea of Andrew having antlers and Steven being this human celebrity that he already is. This fanfic probably would not have been possible without them. Thank you very much Lim!

A special thanks as well to our Discord group [Worthage à Trois](https://href.li/?https://discord.gg/CErGfyw2xm)! They all are very supportive with this fanfic (especially since they know I usually only write dark fics). This is quite hard to write so, thanks to all of my friends for helping me through this, they sometimes let me borrow their braincells for this. Everyone in the group pretty much just borrows one another's braincells lmao

Last but not least though, a quick introduction to the beautiful genre of _Iyashikei_.

**_Iyashikei_** : A sub-genre of of Slice of Life wherein the characters typically live in a rural area. They are in a peaceful and calming environment, where they can grow as people, or just do their normal everyday lives. Iyashikei is intended to have a _healing_ effect on the audience. The word Iyashikei means "Healing" in Japanese. 


	3. Prologue: Green Tea

_ His name is a sound that only the wind and the trees can say, his presence a constant that had been observed by the waning and waxing of the moon, creatures of eons ago that naught exists anymore had met him and maybe moreso he will meet that he will one day outlive. He exists yet, at the same time he does not. _

_ He is here and then, he is not. _

_ And he will live on longer than those of the flora that have bore him into the world. _

He has resided in what is now known to be America. In the millennias that he has lived, their small family had moved from what was known as the old world to the new one. Admittedly, he does not care much for the particular area that he resides in, nature is nature in his opinion. In all actuality, they had only moved because humans had gotten quite territorial with their areas. 

Over the past years, they had tried to live a peaceful life. 

They’ve had this small place for themselves for centuries and their family isn’t thinking of going away any time soon.

“Andrew!” 

He turns when he hears his name for this century called. “What?” The blond inquires as he just finished serving their guests. It was Annie who had called out to him, one of his family friends who help him out with their restaurant.

They have a quaint little space in Ohio, a restaurant that’s been “passed” down by their family for generations now. 

He goes over to Annie who’s currently manning the cash register. Annie points over to Inga who’s currently outside their shop, waving at the two of them with both of her hands to attract their attention. “She said she needs you to look at something,” The raven explains, her tone rather worryingly austere. 

Andrew nods his head and goes over to where Inga is. The day is just starting, and he’s hoping that it’s not one of those weird locals that keep trying to ask them for witchcraft tips (no, they do not perform black magic here, they just cook) or worse, businessmen who want to buy them out of the restaurant. 

Andrew heads out to find two strangers with Inga, one of them is a curly-haired brunet who Andrew vaguely remembers being a customer here before when he was younger. He may have a beard now and look way taller than he was before, but Andrew doesn’t usually forget a face. He’s holding a camera with him that makes Andrew think that this could either turn out good or bad.

The other one is a complete stranger to the blond. He has silver-lavender hair, taller than all of them and he seems surprisingly chipper in the morning. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Andrew asks mostly to Inga as he stays close to her side. He eyes the two strangers, trying to assess what they could possibly want.

“Andrew, this is Steven and Adam!” Inga introduces him to them as the duo reach their hands out to shake Andrew’s. “They said they wanted to feature our restaurant in their videos.”

“A video huh?” Andrew echoes out her words as Steven nods and hands him his phone.

“This is our youtube channel Watcher, we feature great restaurants with amazing dishes and right now, we’re doing an episode about Borscht,” Steven explains to him as he moves closer to Andrew’s space. The blond let him as he looks through all the videos that Watcher has.

Andrew already knows why Inga looked so excited about this. He’s heard of Watcher before; it’s one of her favourite channels on the internet hence why she must’ve been so ecstatic for Andrew to talk to them.

“We tried to contact you before, but it was really hard, so we’re sorry for just suddenly barging in on you like this.” Steven apologizes for their rudeness, to which Andrew doesn’t really think is rude, they just caught them all by surprise.

“No, it’s fine,” Andrew tells them and there’s a look of relief that flashes through both Adam and Steven’s features. “We don’t really have an internet presence, but-” Andrew looks over to Inga this time and asks her. “Did you ask Annie about this already?”

Inga nods her head beaming. “Yup! I wanted you to meet them and let them explain. What do you think?”

Andrew hums, “We have to think about it first,” He says as he gives the cellphone back to Steven. “We’re not really interested in getting featured, our restaurant is just a small one here in Ohio and the locals are most of our customers. We’re already fairly happy with everything.” Andrew explains, hoping his words didn’t sound too harsh.

Getting too much exposure would be bad for them, especially since their restaurant has been here for half a century now with the same crew still manning it.

“That’s what I thought too,” Inga agrees with Andrew, despite her obvious excitement, she pretty much knows what is at stake for them here. “Although, I really would love for you guys to feature us here. I’m sorry that you had to go on this trip and bring all of your equipment though,” She looks over to their car and the camera in Adam’s hands.

“Oh no, it’s fine,” It was Adam’s turn to talk this time, “We actually just got back from another shoot and thought we could kill two birds with one stone.” He looks over to Andrew “I grew up around here and got to eat at your restaurant. It’s one of the best I’ve ever eaten at, it’s nostalgic and feels like home.”

Andrew smiles at his words, clearly touched. “Thank you, you probably got to eat the borscht that my dad made.” He lies. Obviously, Andrew, Inga, and Rie are the only ones who cook in the restaurant and borscht is Andrew’s specialty. “Anyway, you guys must’ve had a long day-” He gestures to the entrance of their restaurant “-Maybe we could whip something up for you before going back on the road?”

“Definitely, I’m starving,” Adam replies back with glee in his voice.

“I’m definitely down for some more food!” Steven enthusiastically agrees as they wait for Adam to pack his camera back inside their car.

The four of them walk back inside the restaurant and in that instant, he hears Steven say “Hm, smells like home,” 

“This is our home, kinda,” Inga tells them as she and Andrew help them to a table.

“We have a few varieties of food for you to try out aside from borscht,” Andrew explains off as he gives them the menu.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Adam says as he takes the menu from Andrew. “We’ll try your other options first, maybe there’s something new you guys added over the years.”

“Reminds me of my own place,” Steven tells them out of the blue, making the trio look at him.

“Your apartment looks  _ nothing _ like a restaurant, keep dreaming,” Adam jesters with a laugh.

“No, no, I meant the smell!” Steven explains, laughing along with his friend. 

“What does it smell like?” Andrew inquires with an arched brow, curious about Steven’s words.

“Hmm,” The silveret hums as he closes his eyes for a moment and takes in the aroma of the restaurant. “I mean, I smell a bit of matcha.”

“You’re losing it, Steven, you really need to eat.” Adam shakes his head at the other.

“It’s true!” He defends himself “Don’t you smell it?”

“Maybe you’re talking about Andrew,” Inga tells them as she points over to the blond. “You’ve been experimenting with green tea recently right?”

Andrew feels a bit flustered at being exposed and smelling like green tea, but he agrees and answers back “Uh… Yeah, sorry is it bad?” He scratches his head before one hand grabs his shirt so he could sniff it.

“No, of course not!” Steven smiles at him, bright and innocent, “I love it, I mean, I didn’t want to sound weird earlier but the smell just got stronger when we came inside.”

“This guy  _ loves _ matcha and green tea,” Adam tells them as he points his thumb at Steven. “Are you guys going to add it to the menu?”

“We do have a matcha drink,” Andrew explains off as he points to drinks in Steven’s menu. “If you’d like to order that?”

“Of course, thank you,” Steven says before looking up at Andrew and asking. “Are you trying to a make a dish or drink with matcha? I’ve love to try that out too if it’s alright.”

“It’s still in the experimental stages,” the blond lies, he has been using green tea, but it’s more for other things than food at the moment. “I’m not sure about serving it yet,” Now Andrew has to think up of a nice matcha food to prepare just in case, but using green tea in food might help him better.

He’s been using its properties for vitality and cleansing, maybe he can incorporate that into food next.

“That’s too bad, maybe you can tell us about it when you’ve finished experimenting though,” Steven says as he offers his business card to Andrew and the blond takes it. “I’d love to try out the food you’re making with green tea too.”

“Sure,” Andrew replies. “I’ll tell you when I finish it.”


End file.
